30 ReviewsSerious injuries can change your life and leave you with expensive medical costs, the inability to work, and pain and suffering. It is only right that the liable party pays for your personal injury damages.
A Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer with Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers will help establish the defendant’s fault and liability. Then, we will fight for your rights and secure the financial compensation to which you are legally entitled.
Types of Accidents Our Personal Injury Firm Can Handle
Personal injury cases cover many different types of accidents. Some of the common types of injury accidents we handle include:
- Bicycle accidents
- Birth injury
- Boating accidents
- Car accidents
- Construction accidents
- Dog bites
- Medical malpractice
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Truck accidents
- Wrongful death
Even if you don’t see the type of accident you were involved in listed here, we still want to listen to your story and see how our attorneys can help you.
Usually, if you suffered injuries that another party caused, you may have a valid injury case.
Find a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer
Near Me (954) 476-1000
Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers Can Exercise Your Rights
Our lawyers can help you build a case that proves fault, liability, and the value of your damages so we can fight for fair compensation.
Florida requires that we establish your personal injury case meets these four criteria:
The Other Party’s Duty Is to Provide You With the Highest Standard of Care
The other party owed you a legal duty of care, meaning the defendant had a duty to behave reasonably so as not to harm you.
To name some examples:
- Drivers must drive safely and not endanger others.
- Property owners must keep their premises free of hazards
- Physicians must provide you with the utmost standard of care.
The Other Party doesn’t Follow Through With Their Duty
The other party breached their legal duty of care by acting negligently. Using the same examples as above:
- A driver decides to speed or operate a vehicle while drunk.
- A property owner doesn’t put a caution sign up to warn visitors about a broken floorboard.
- A physician operates on the wrong side of the body.
This Lack of Care Leads to Your Injuries
We must also establish that the defendant’s negligence caused your accident and injuries. In some cases, we may work with medical experts to testify that your accident caused your injuries—not some other incident.
Your Injuries Caused You Financial and Non-Financial Struggles
We must provide evidence that you suffered damages as a result of the accident. Damages include the physical, emotional, and financial effects of your injuries.
Note that Florida is a pure comparative negligence state, per Florida Statutes § 768.81. You can still seek compensation for an accident for which you are partly to blame. However, your partial fault will reduce your compensation by your percentage of fault. Thus, it is essential to collect all available evidence to establish the defendant’s fault.
Chalik & Chalik Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me (954) 476-1000
Recoverable Damages in a Personal Injury Case
We take a personal approach with our clients to get to know them and how their injuries affect their day-to-day lives. We want to understand how your injuries are impacting you physically and emotionally, as well as financially.
Some of the damages we may seek to recover in your personal injury claim or lawsuit include:
- Medical costs (current and future)
- Lost wages and benefits
- Diminished earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Diminished quality of life
The types of damages we may seek depend on how the accident and your injuries have affected you. For example, let’s say you got into a serious rear-end collision on I-95 and sustained spinal cord injuries and permanent disfigurement. You would probably be entitled to more compensation than someone who slipped and fell at The Galleria and had minor injuries.
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You Have a Certain Amount of Time to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida
Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is four years under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a). This deadline means that we must file a personal injury lawsuit within four years from the accident date, with few exceptions. For example, if you were a victim of medical malpractice, you would have two years from the date of discovery to take action, per Florida Statutes § 95.11(4)(b).
Getting started as early as possible affords your lawyer the time to investigate what happened and collect the evidence needed to build a compelling case. In addition, it helps prevent us from missing the statute of limitations. If that were to happen, the state would bar you from collecting any damages.
Your lawyer serving Fort Lauderdale can make sure you file your personal injury case on time and meet other applicable deadlines if you give us enough notice.
For a free legal consultation with a Chalik & Chalik lawyer serving Fort Lauderdale, call (954) 476-1000
Affording Our Legal Services After You were Hurt in Fort Lauderdale
Medical expenses and other costs that come with an accident add up quickly, so retaining legal assistance afterward can seem implausible. However, Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers works on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning there are no charges:
- Up front
- Out of pocket
- Hourly
- For retainment
Your lawyer will only take their payment if they secure a favorable financial outcome for you. Otherwise, there is no need to reimburse us.
How We Can Help You with Your Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Case
Our attorneys’ goal is to provide you with honest and personalized legal representation. In doing so, we will manage your personal injury case while you focus on your physical and mental well-being.
Complimentary Consultation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The details of every personal injury case differ. We must get to know you and your case so we can take the appropriate legal steps to fight for the compensation you deserve.
Collecting Types of Evidence That Might Be Helpful to Your Case
Any personal injury case must establish the defendant’s fault and liability. We can assist you in collecting the necessary documents and evidence to establish the defendant’s fault.
- Police report
- Accident or incident report
- Medical records
- Eyewitness statements
- Income statements
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Video surveillance footage
- Expert witness testimony
Navigating the Personal Injury Legal Process
We can assist you by handling all communications with insurance companies and other lawyers, evaluating settlement offers, and ensuring your case meets Florida’s statute of limitations and other deadlines.
We can also help negotiate a fair settlement with the insurance company. If the insurance company refuses to make a fair settlement offer, we are prepared to take the case to court and represent you in litigation.
Communication Throughout Your Personal Injury Case
The legal team at Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers returns phone calls and emails and will keep you up to date with the latest developments in your case.
When you work with a lawyer at our family-owned firm, you hire our family to fight for yours.
Our Clients Can Speak to How We Prioritize Them More Than Anything
At Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers, we work to get our clients the means they need to move forward following an accident. One of our case results includes a $22.1 million award for a client who suffered a catastrophic injury due to a defective product.
You can count on our lawyers to provide you with the same care as other clients. Some have shared their experience:
- “Very clean office, professional staff, and the highest quality of service, because of Jason Chaliks tenacity, and fierceness in the courtroom I was awarded 250,000$ in a slip & fall injury. Thanks Chalik & Chalik!!!!” – Jeffrey H.
- “I really cant say enough great things about this Firm. Honest, ethical and great communicators. Dell, made me feel like family and answered all my questions numerous times. The experience that Jason and his team have is quite obvious. They kept me [informed] about my case at all times…” – Charles P.
You can check out more client testimonials to learn more about what it’s like working with us.
Top Causes of Personal Injury in Fort Lauderdale
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), preventable injury-related deaths are one of the top causes of death across the U.S. In 2020, the U.S. documented 5.4 million preventable injuries and over 200,000 preventable deaths. And the numbers show no signs of decreasing.
Florida is no exception. Some causes of preventable injuries in Florida include:
Poisoning
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) notes that most poisonings result from unintentional drug overdoses linked to opioid usage. These overdoses can stem from medical negligence when prescribing doctors do not inform patients of the risk associated with taking opioids.
Additional risk factors can include prescribing:
- the wrong dosage
- the wrong medication for a condition
- A medication too potent for the patient’s age or health
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Miami New Times noted that I-95 in Fort Lauderdale is one of the country’s most dangerous one-mile stretch of highway, seeing 91,000 accidents in the past 20 years—50 times the national average. Motor vehicle accidents can include truck accidents, passenger vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and others.
Slip and Falls
A slip and fall accident refers to when a person slips and trips and is injured on another person’s property. This can happen anywhere, including at work, in public places, in nursing homes, and outdoors. Common reasons for these falls include poor lighting, cracked sidewalks, rain, ice, and snow, among other things. These accidents can cause severe injuries to the back, spine, and skull.
Moving Forward After Being Injured in Fort Lauderdale
Your actions following an accident in Fort Lauderdale can make or break your case. Insurers can employ deceptive tactics to keep you from claiming compensation. You can protect yourself and your right to a settlement by following the steps below.
Go to the Doctor
If medical attention is not provided at the scene, seek help immediately. A medical professional will assess your injuries, treat you and provide a complete summary of your injuries. Refusing or delaying medical help can seriously hurt your injury claim.
File a Police Report if Necessary
If you were involved in a car accident or have sustained serious or life-threatening injuries, you should file a police report immediately. The responding officer will document the facts of your case, which can provide evidence against the at-fault party. You can submit a police report to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Don’t Admit Fault
Depending on the circumstances, you may feel guilty about what happened, especially if someone else was also hurt. However, by expressing guilt, apologizing, or stating that it’s your fault, you can lose any compensation you were entitled to.
Don’t Provide an Official Statement
Recorded statements can be used against you during your claim. Insurers may use your words to contradict you, dismiss your case, or worse, place you at fault for your injuries.
Consider Working With a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer
The best way to succeed in your case is to be informed of your rights and hire an attorney to uphold those rights under Florida law. Our attorneys are prepared to represent your interests with the insurance company and get you everything owed to you.
Hire a Personal Injury Attorney at Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers Today
Whether you experienced a personal injury from a slip and fall or you were in a severe car accident that another driver caused, we can help. One of our lawyers in Fort Lauderdale, FL, could help you recover the compensation you need to pay the bills, get medical care, and more.
Call Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation.
Call or text Chalik & Chalik (954) 476-1000
Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Blog Posts:
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Why You Need Bodily Injury Liability Coverage in FloridaYou may think that if you have the minimum insurance required by Florida law, you are covered after a car accident. In fact, without bodily injury liability coverage, you are very much at risk of being personally responsible for medical bills or other damages resulting from a car accident. Here are some reasons why you...
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Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury FAQ:
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What If I Can’t Afford to Pay for a Personal Injury Lawyer in Florida?If you can’t afford to pay for a personal injury lawyer in Florida, you could select a law firm that works on a contingency-fee basis. This fee structure means that a personal injury lawyer’s payment is “contingent” upon winning your case and getting compensation on your behalf. If you happen to lose your case, you...